America is a collection of regions: New England, The South, The West, etc., and each has it's own cuisine. I live in an area where Tex-Mex is very popular, but when I was in the South, grits and Velveeta cheese ruled!

Because the United State has long attracted immigrants from a wide variety of nations and cultures, the cuisine of the United States is diverse and can be difficult to define. Many of the American cuisines have origins from another nation, or part of the world, and has been Americanized. American cuisine may be viewed by some as a synthesis of cuisines from around the world, a style of cooking that takes something from each immigrant community
The cuisine of the Native Americans was the first American cooking style, and it lent a great deal not only to subsequent American cooking but also to culinary styles around the world. Turkey, corn (maize), beans, sunflowers, potatoes, peppers, and various forms of squash (including pumpkins) are among the Native American foods now widely consumed elsewhere.
Superimposed on this original native diet is the massive contribution of the various immigrant groups; many dishes considered American are in fact based upon the cooking traditions of other countries. For example, apple pies, pizza, runzas, chowder, and hamburgers are all either identical to, or derived from, European dishes. Burritos and tacos similarly have their origins in Mexico.
Another factor that makes defining American cuisine difficult is that most of it developed as home cooking rather than haute cuisine. Some aspects of American food culture that might not be immediately described as cuisine include baked beans, barbecue, and clam chowder, as well as many of the American-style candy bars and fast-food items popular around the world.
One characteristic of American cooking is the fusion of multiple ethnic or regional approaches into completely new cooking styles. The cuisine of the South, for example, has been heavily influenced by immigrants from Africa, France, and Mexico, among others. Asian cooking has played a particularly large role in American fusion cuisine.
Similarly, while some dishes considered typically American many have their origins in other countries, American cooks and chefs have substantially altered them over the years, to the degree that the dish as now enjoyed the world over may even be considered American. Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, brought over to America by German immigrants to the United States, but in their modern popular form they can be reasonably considered American dishes.
American cooking has been widely exported beyond its borders. Tex-Mex, Creole, and barbecue restaurants can be found in cities all around the world, while fast-food burger bars and pizzerias are even more popular.
Given the United States' large size it has numerous regional variations. The cuisine of the East Coast and Pacific Northwest, for example, makes use of fish and seafood to much greater degree than that of the Midwest, where corn and beef were long more readily available. To some degree, easy transportation of perishable foodstuffs has diminished these regional differences in recent years, but many Americans still associate certain foods with specific places, such as steak with Omaha; lobster with Maine; salmon with the Pacific Northwest; and crab and crab cakes with Maryland.
Notable regional styles include Hawaiian cuisine, Cajun cuisine, and California cuisine. While all three types are part of the larger category of American cuisine and may influence other areas of the country, they do not necessarily typify what comes to mind when one hears the word American.
The Great Depression forced a standardization of the food industry to consolidate revenue. Through the war years, the combination of the GI ration and the advice of cookbooks in the ways to prepare the "standard cuisine." This cuisine came out of the new heart of the American diet, the Midwest.
American cuisine began to change during World War II with the adaptation of Italian-American and Chinese foods. Spaghetti was served to American GIs during the war. While the American versions of Chinese-inspired foods were at first far from authentic recipes included ingredients such as ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and cream of mushroom soup, they represented a new acceptance of less traditionally "American" foods.
Much of the ethnic variety in modern American cuisine has its roots in developments that took place over the last half century. The modern fast food industry developed largely out of American innovations, particularly through the early efforts of the McDonald's corporation. This has led to some controversy with the global spread of such chains, as perceived Americanization of cuisine in other countries is sometimes described with derogatory terms like McDonaldization
More information:
http://www.keyingredients.org/

Because the United State has long attracted immigrants from a wide variety of nations and cultures, the cuisine of the United States is diverse and can be difficult to define. Many of the American cuisines have origins from another nation, or part of the world, and has been Americanized. American cuisine may be viewed by some as a synthesis of cuisines from around the world, a style of cooking that takes something from each immigrant community
The cuisine of the Native Americans was the first American cooking style, and it lent a great deal not only to subsequent American cooking but also to culinary styles around the world. Turkey, corn (maize), beans, sunflowers, potatoes, peppers, and various forms of squash (including pumpkins) are among the Native American foods now widely consumed elsewhere.
Superimposed on this original native diet is the massive contribution of the various immigrant groups; many dishes considered American are in fact based upon the cooking traditions of other countries. For example, apple pies, runzas, pizzas, chowder, and hamburgers are all either identical to, or derived from, European dishes. Burritos and tacos similarly have their origins in Mexico.
Another factor that makes defining American cuisine difficult is that most of it developed as home cooking rather than haute cuisine. Some aspects of American food culture that might not be immediately described as cuisine include baked beans, clam chowder and barbecue, as well as many of the American-style candy bars and fast-food items popular around the world.
One characteristic of American cooking is the fusion of multiple ethnic or regional approaches into completely new cooking styles. The cuisine of the South, for example, has been heavily influenced by immigrants from Africa, France, and Mexico, among others. Asian cooking has played a particularly large role in American fusion cuisine.
Similarly, while some dishes considered typically American many have their origins in other countries, American cooks and chefs have substantially altered them over the years, to the degree that the dish as now enjoyed the world over may even be considered American. Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, brought over to America by German immigrants to the United States, but in their modern popular form they can be reasonably considered American dishes.
American cooking has been widely exported beyond its borders. Tex-Mex, Creole, and barbecue restaurants can be found in cities all around the world, while fast-food burger bars and pizzerias are even more popular.
Given the United States' large size it has numerous regional variations. The cuisine of the East Coast and Pacific Northwest, for example, makes use of fish and seafood to much greater degree than that of the Midwest, where corn and beef were long more readily available. To some degree, easy transportation of perishable foodstuffs has diminished these regional differences in recent years, but many Americans still associate certain foods with specific places, such as steak with Omaha; lobster with Maine; salmon with the Pacific Northwest; and crab and crab cakes with Maryland.
Notable regional styles include Hawaiian cuisine, Cajun cuisine, and California cuisine. While all three types are part of the larger category of American cuisine and may influence other areas of the country, they do not necessarily typify what comes to mind when one hears the word American.
The Great Depression forced a standardization of the food industry to consolidate revenue. Through the war years, the combination of the GI ration and the advice of cookbooks in the ways to prepare the "standard cuisine." This cuisine came out of the new heart of the American diet, the Midwest.
American cuisine began to change during World War II with the adaptation of Italian-American and Chinese foods. Spaghetti was served to American GIs during the war. While the American versions of Chinese-inspired foods were at first far from authentic recipes included ingredients such as ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and cream of mushroom soup, they represented a new acceptance of less traditionally "American" foods.
Much of the ethnic variety in modern American cuisine has its roots in developments that took place over the last half century. The modern fast food industry developed largely out of American innovations, particularly through the early efforts of the McDonald's corporation. This has led to some controversy with the global spread of such chains, as perceived Americanization of cuisine in other countries is sometimes described with derogatory terms like McDonaldization
More information:
http://www.keyingredients.org/

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